Hat-block



UNITED STATES ICE.

WM. V. CUMBERLAND, OF NE\VARK, NEW JERSEY.

HAT-BLOCK.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM 7. CUMBER- LAND, of the city of Newark,county of Essex, in the State of NewJersey, have invented a new andImproved Method of Fastening Blocks of food or Metal Together forHatters7 Use and for other Purposes, and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

This invention has for' its object fastening the several parts composingan entire block together in such a manner that they can be easilyseparated and be introduced singly` through an aperture smaller than thelargest part of the block when all parts composing it are placed intheir proper position and shall again become firmly attached to eachot-her when the parts are again brought into their proper relativeposition within the aperture and may be afterward readily withdrawn whenrequired.

The accompanying drawings represent a block for pressing and finishinghats upon. This block fully illustrates my invention in every particularas the only change neces' sary to be made in the fastenings for blocksforother purposes will consist merely in a difference in their number orin the angle at which they are set with the face of the piece.

Figure l is a perspective view of the block when the parts are together.Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 8 is a Vertical section of the block when thepieces are together, through the points Z, m, Fig. 2. Fig. is a Verticalsection through the same points as Fig. 3 when the center piece is beingintroduced the side pieces being drawn somewhat together as they wouldappear when first inserted into a hat. Fig. 5 is a side view of thefastenings detached from the block. Fig. 6, is a front view of thefastenings detached from the block. Fig. 7 is a section of thefastenings through the points w, 3/, in Fig. 5. Figs. 5 to 7 inclusiveare drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1 to 4; for the pur pose ofshowing the parts more plainly.

The same letters refer to the same parts in the different figures.

A is the center piece of the block.

B is the front piece of the block.

C is the back piece of the block.

D and E are the two side pieces of the block.

F is the spring catch.

G is the part of the fastening attached to the back of the center piece;H the part at tached to the front. I and J are similar fasteningsattached to the two sides of the center piece.

G' is the partl of the fastening attached to the back piece O. H' is thepart of the fastening attached to the front piece B. I' and J' aresimilar fastenings attached respectively to the two side pieces D and E.

The center piece A is of the form of a truncated rectangular pyramidhaving its base upward,

The fastenings Gr, H, I and J attached to the center' piece A are madeof a tapering form in the direction of their length and also in 'thedirection of their width and height eX cepting only the surface wherethey come in contact with and are attached to the faces of the centerpiece, these surfaces are made parallel with the outside surfaces vofthe fastenings. The fastenings are attached firmly to the center pieceby screws applied through holes in the parallel parts of the fastenings.In those fastenings to which a spring catch, (F) is secured the part ofthe surface around the screws is sunk below the general level of theoutside so as to bring the screw heads below the general level of theoutside of the fastening and leave a space for the spring catch F whichis secured to the fastening by the lower' screw which passes through thelower end of it and through the fastening securing both of them to theblock.

acute angle leaving a projection beyond the surface of the fastening atthe bend which when the parts are together takes hold in a notch orrecess in the piece opposite to it, and the spring after passing througha rectangular opening in the upper end of the fastening is again bentupward in the finger space of the center piece so that by placing apersonls finger upon the end of the spring and pressing it toward thecenter of the block the catch is released from the notch and the centerpiece may be withdrawn.

lVlien attached to the center piece A the lower ends of the fasteningsG, H, I and J project downward the inner surfaces of them being placedat an angle to the surface to which they are attached leaving a wedgeformed space, the smaller part upward, between the inner surface of thefastenings' and the block as seen in Fig. 4: where the part projectingdownward is marked K. In case the block is too short to allow thefastenings being attached at the end, the downward projections may beformed on the two sides of the fastening leaving a space for the screwsbetween them the upward projections being also placedupon the sidesleaving a corresponding space between them.

The front piece (B) of the block, the back piece (O), and the two sidepieces (D and E) are inclined on their respective sides which are fittedto the center piece (A) at an equal angle to the central Vertical axisof the center piece as the corresponding sides of the center piece butin a reverse direction. The fastenings G', H', I', and J' are attachedto them by screws as in the before mentioned fastenings, and are letinto grooves formed in the face of the pieces B, C, D and E so that theoutside surface of the fastening shall be a little below the surface ofthe piece. The grooves are formed of a corresponding cross section tothe fastenings G, H, I, J attached to the center piece (A) and have acorresponding taper in their several directions, so that when the piecesare in their proper position they shall fit each other on the two sides,though it is not necessary 'that they should bottom.

The fastenings G' H' I' and J' have each an upward projection leaving arecess be- .faces of the downward and upward projections shall come incontact with and wedge against each other and wedge the pieces togetherfirmly. The points of the downward projections are truncated somewhatand a correspondin ofiset left upon the opposite fastening an they areso placed upon their respective pieces that the point of one of theprojections shall bottom so as to come in contact with the oflset on theother when the pieces of the block are in their proper relativeposition, so as to prevent them from being forced beyond the line ofeachother in case a Cgreater pressure than usual should be applie to thecenter piece and thus prevent them from being wedged too tightlytogether so that they could not be readily withdrawn when required.

A slot is made in the point K of the fastenings G, H, I, and J which isshown in the drawings of one of them, namely G in Figs. 3 and 4, but isntended to be applied to all the others. This slot opens downward and isnarrowest near the upper end where it is made of the same width as thediameter of theA smooth neck of the extra screw which passes through thefastening G' into the bottom of the groove in the part C, and when theparts of the block are vtogether as seen in Fig. 3 this screw passesthrough the slot in the point K of the fastening also, and fits it onthe two sides.` The design of this construction, is tol prevent thenarrow sides of the point K of the fastening from pressing upon andwearing away the sides of the grooves in the block with which they comein contact and which, as the blocks are generally made of wood, wouldotherwise soonotake place from continued use, and in that case allow ofa slight movement of the parts of the block upon one another.

Having thus described the several parts in their construction I proceedto show their manner of action when in use. The front and back pieces (Band C) and the two side pieces D and E are each separately inserted intothe hat in their proper position with relation to each other and to thehat. The lower end of the center piece A, is then inserted between themand as it is pushed downward it gradually forces out the surroundingpieces, the fastenings upon the center piece A entering the grooves inthe center, front, back and side pieces and the downward projections Kupon the fastenings G, H, I, and J entering the recesses between theupward projections on the fastenings G', H', I', and J' and the bottomof the grooves until the inner surfaces of the downward and upwardprojections are brought into contact with each other smd by their shapeand position wedge the parts firmly together, the sides of thefastenings G, H, I, and J being wedged against the sides of the groovesin the pieces B, C, D, and E and the points of the upward projectionsG', H', I', and J' coming in contact with the oifsets on the fasteningsG, H, I, and J and the spring catch, F, falling into a recess or notchin the opposite piece B fitted to the projection of the spring catchwhich extends beyond the face of the fastening H and holds the centerpiece A from being withdrawn unless the upper part of the spring catchis pressed inward so as to withdraw the projection from the notch in thepiece B.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In combination with the metal fastenngs attached to the sides of theieces I claim preventing the points of the ownward projections (K) ofthe fastenings attached to the center piece from wearing away the sidesof the grooves in the blocks (when formed of Wood) with which they comein contact,

by means of a slot inthe end of said projections and a screW passingthrough the corresponding part of the 'fastenings in the grooves andseoured in the Wood in the bottom of the grooves, the smooth neck ofwhich shall enter the slot and fit it on the two sides When the partsare in proper position, substantially as described and for the pul'posedescrbed.

VILLIAM VV. CUMBERLAND.

fitnesses I. 7. CHANDLER, THEO. FRELINGHUYSEN, Jr.

